If You Have a Folder of Saved Jobs, Read This

You can't get a job you don't apply for.

I don't mean that as a motivational quote or to have it land as annoying advice when you're already trying your best. I mean it literally.

A lot of capable, thoughtful folks aren't stuck because they're unqualified. They're stuck because they've parked in the saving phase.

They have folders full of job postings. Roles they're interested in. Roles they could realistically do. Roles they keep revisiting.

Saving jobs feels productive. It feels like you're being thoughtful and strategic. And when you're burned out or unsure, it's a hell of a lot safer than applying.

Saving lets you stay in control, while applying requires contact with the unknown.

But the problem is that saved jobs don't actually give you clarity.

They just give you more information to sit with.

And that's a slippery slope, my friend.

Clarity doesn't come from collecting options. It comes from engaging the market.

A lot of folks wait to feel ready before they act. But readiness doesn't come first. Feedback does.

And you're not like a lot of folks. So, I'm going to give you a simple tool you can use to turn those saved jobs into something useful.

This is a trimmed down version of an exercise I use in coaching sessions to help my clients move out of analysis paralysis and into informed action.

You can do it in 15-20 minutes.

Start by choosing 3-5 saved roles you keep coming back to.

For each role, walk through these four prompts:

What the role is asking for. Look for what they truly need someone to do. What problems are they trying to solve? What outcomes would make this hire successful six months in? Focus on skills, scope, and responsibility, not the laundry list.
Evidence you already have to support those things. You're not trying to prove you've done this job exactly before, necessarily. You're looking for results you've produced, problems you've solved, and types of work you've been trusted with across roles. If you've done something repeatedly, at different levels, or in different environments, that's evidence.
The gap, if there is one. Name the gap clearly. Is it one specific tool? A larger scale than you've worked at before? Exposure to a different type of stakeholder or environment?
Reframe or bridge the gap. Once you name the specific gap, you can ask more useful questions. Is this something you could reasonably learn in the first few months? Is there a smaller or adjacent way you've already done this that counts as a foundation? Is this a gap you could actively work on now, through a project, stretch assignment, certification, or targeted experience?

When you do this exercise honestly, one of two things usually happens.

Either you realize you're much closer than your anxiety has been letting you believe.

Or you realize this role actually isn't a great fit.

Both outcomes are useful.

If a role has solid evidence, a clear scope, and gaps you could realistically close, that's no longer a "save for later" job. That's an apply-and-learn job.

The job market gives you feedback you can't get any other way than by applying.

Interviews show you what resonates. Rejections show you where to tighten your story. And conversations show you how your experience actually lands.

None of that happens in the saving phase.

Burnout already takes enough from people. It doesn't need to take your chances, too.

If you want help doing this live, this is exactly the kind of work we do in individual coaching. We slow things down, look at real roles you're considering, and translate your experience into something actionable.

And if that's something you've been considering, booking by December 31 locks in current pricing for sessions that begin in the new year, before rates increase in 2026.

And whether you do this on your own or with support, the point stays the same.

You don't need to feel perfectly ready. You need feedback.

And you can't get a job you don't apply for.

Take care,

Tara

P.S. I'll be taking the next two weeks off from the weekly newsletter for the holidays. I'll be back in your inbox in the new year. 🫶